Ahmedabad, India – Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site of the Air India flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad on Friday, reviewing the ground situation and meeting with officials, a day after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers and crew, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad International Airport.
The Prime Minister arrived in Ahmedabad this morning and immediately proceeded to the crash site. He was briefed on the situation by accompanying officials, including Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi.
Following his visit to the crash site, PM Modi went to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to meet with those injured in the tragic incident. Upon his arrival in the city, the Prime Minister was received by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, and CR Paatil.
The crashed aircraft had 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national on board. Miraculously, one British national of Indian origin survived the crash, according to airline authorities. The flight was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, and First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.
According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 13:39 IST (08:09 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC but subsequently lost communication. Immediately after departing Runway 23, the aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter, with heavy black smoke reported from the accident site.
Yesterday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to gather detailed information about the incident. Shah stated that the high temperature caused by the burning of nearly 125,000 liters of fuel in the aircraft left no chance of survival for those on board. He extended condolences to the families of the victims and indicated that the official death toll would be released after DNA tests, with approximately 1,000 DNA tests conducted so far.
“The plane carried almost 125,000 litres of fuel, and due to the high temperature, there was no chance of saving anyone,” the Home Minister told mediapersons after visiting the crash site. He added that information about the incident was received within 10 minutes, prompting him to inform the Prime Minister, Gujarat Home Minister, and relevant central and state departments, leading to immediate joint relief and rescue operations.
A formal investigation into the deadly crash, which killed 241 people onboard, has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation tasked with probing aircraft accidents in India. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed this on Thursday, stating on X that the investigation is in line with international protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Naidu also informed that the Indian government would constitute a high-level committee of experts to examine the incident and devise ways to strengthen aviation safety.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a U.S. federal agency, is preparing to send a team of investigators to India to assist with the probe.
The Tata group-owned airline has established dedicated passenger hotline numbers: 1800 5691 444 for calls within India, and +91 8062779200 for international callers. The Tata Group has also announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of each person who lost their lives in the crash.
